The present invention relates to a novel confectionery obtained using an appropriate quantity of branched maltodextrins in combination with at least one polyol.
Nowadays, as regards confectionery products and sweetmeats, it appears that new strong consumer trends are appearing. Notions of nutritional balance and healthy lifestyle are, consciously or otherwise, taken into account in current diets. Although the enjoyment of what is sweet is still very strong, a good number of consumers wish to avoid the problems linked to the consumption of sugars. It is for this reason that confectionery manufacturers have been led to develop sugar-free combinations in which polyols, sometimes called sugar alcohols, are rightly used because of their harmlessness towards the teeth and of their reduced calorific value compared with sucrose.
One of the great difficulties from which formulators of sugar-free confectionery products cannot escape is that of successfully manufacturing products which are in every respect similar to traditional products to the extent that it is difficult to tell them apart, this being without having to substantially alter or complicate the plants and the procedures in place in industries. This is also true of the confectionery products which are the subject of the present invention.
Various documents reporting active research studies in this field are known. There may be mentioned in particular:
the documents U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,597,981 and 4,323,359 both relating to sugar-free soft confectionery products containing gelatin.
the document FR-A-2,338,651 in which there is claimed a novel process for manufacturing soft sweets having a crystalline structure. This process is equally suitable for the production of conventional products and sugar-free products. Mannitol is cited among the numerous possible sugar substitutes, but xylitol, which is preferred because of the sensation of freshness which it produces in the mouth, is used as sole and only substitute for mixtures of sugar and glucose syrup. The applicants have observed that this is not possible with mannitol.
the document EP-A-377,278 relating to a dietetic sweetening composition, in which grained chewy pastes are described, also containing xylitol. The latter still represents at least 38% of the sweetening mass, which, given its price on the market, tends to dissuade industrialists from its use in such an application. Moreover, the products obtained which are the most advantageous from the point of view of their texture and their stability require very high cooking temperatures, in the region of 165xc2x0 C., but also the maturation of the massecuite overnight before being worked again. It can be understood why an industrial implementation of such a process can be very delicate.
the document EP-A-0,630,573 describing sugar-free aerated and grained confectionery products, free of cellulosic compounds derived from cellulose, comprising a polyol chosen from mannitol and erythritol, the said polyol constituting from 13.5 to 28% of the sweetening mass of the said confectionery.
There are therefore currently no technically or economically viable solutions allowing the manufacture of sugar-free confectionery products having the qualitative characteristics set out above.
On the strength of this acknowledged fact, the applicants set out to remedy this deficiency while setting themselves the essential objective of reducing as much as possible the quantities of polyols to be used in the preparation of such confectionery products. This is justified for reasons of a technical nature linked to ease of manufacture but also of an economic and metabolic nature, that is to say in particular of digestive tolerance. Furthermore, it is particularly advantageous to limit as much as possible the incorporation of polyols which indeed contain fewer calories than sugar, but contain more calories than other bulking agents which may also enter into the formulation of such confectionery products, such that, if desired, a substantially higher calorie reduction can thus be obtained.
Finally, it is also possible to envisage, by virtue of the use of the small quantity of polyols, the introduction of substances with advantageous nutritional or pharmacodynamic properties such as, in the case of the present invention, branched maltodextrins, in a nonnegligible quantity.
It is after many trials that the applicants have had the merit to observe, surprisingly and unexpectedly, that the combination of branched maltodextrins and certain polyols made it possible to prepare sugar-free confectionery products which are very well tolerated, optionally having a low calorific value, an excellent stability and an adaptable texture, at a rate of use, expressed relative to the sweetening mass present in confectionery products, which is particularly low and in particular lower than that described in the document EP-A-0,630,573.